The event coincided with the 74th birthday of Guyana Federation President Lenox Shuffler, here giving balls to Adityanand Singh

Lausanne, Switzerland, February 12, 2013 – Following its AGM on January 27, the Guyana Volleyball Federation launched its 2013 season on Sunday with a Volleyball Festival at the National Gymnasium in Georgetown.

The event attracted a good turnout of teams, including Berbice, East Coast, Georgetown, West Demerara, Port Mourant Training Center, Albion V.C., Port Mourant Jaguars V.C., 3 Door Strikers V.C. of D'Edward, Guyana School of Agriculture, University of Guyana and the national women’s team.

The first part of the festival saw the teams compete on a round-robin basis and after two rounds, the top four teams moved on to play in the semifinals and final.

The first semifinal featured PMTC and Albion VC, and despite the spirited defence and spikes by the mostly under-17 players from Albion, PMTC triumped 30-25.

The second semifinal was contested by 3 Doors Strikers and PM Jaguars. It was a match of changing fortunes packed with powerful spikes and amazing defensive plays that resulted in long rallies and saw 3 Doors Strikers eventually winning 30-28.

The final between PMTC and 3 Doors Strikers was exciting. PMTC spikers Quacy Matheson, Creston Rodney and Seon Glasgow, as well as setter Jason Seelochan, were too strong for the 3 Door Strikers despite good performances from former under-19 players Adityanand Singh and Noresh Jairam. PMTC won 30-21.

The third-place playoff was won by Albion VC, who defeated PM Jags 30-28.

At the presentation ceremony, GVF President Shuffler thanked all the teams who participated and said it was “the best birthday gift” he could have received.

He said he was impressed with the quality of play and singled out the performance of the 3 Doors Strikers. He also took the opportunity to present three balls to the under-19 men’s squad, who are in training for the 2013 Inter Guianas Games.